Cloth forming mechanism



g- 29, 1933- F. N. Ross ET AL CLOTH FORMING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS Aug. 29, 1933. F. N. ROSS ET AL CLOTH FORMING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 1, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 M r V a ATTORNEY Aug. 29, 1933. F. N. ROSS ET AL CLOTH FORMING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 1, 1932 \WW\ SUE Qn B y 1 F5 V r m xx Y 000000000000 0 O M -P HHH hm i i u1 hfl H 9/ H HI'IIHHHIIIIHII I l I. l// LN \Y ATTORNEY5 Aug. 29, 1933. F N R ET AL 1,924,257

CLOTH FORMING MECHANISM Filed Feb. 1; 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 5 Eli/192k M 10,, 57 E ErJf/E I ATTORNEY) F. N. ROSS ET AL CLOTH FORMING MECHANISM Aug. 29, 1933.

Filed Feb. 1, 1932 5 sheets sheet 5 w w, M Z w; m QM M 5 ATTORNEY-Y Patented Aug. 29, i933 I I he i ,924,25'1 cnorn FORMING MECHANISM Frederick N. Ross. and Byron Everitt; Detroit;

Mich, assignors to Brig-gs Manufacturing a Company, Detroit, .Mich; a corporation of 'Michigan l Application February 1, 1932. Serial No. 590 ,276

8 Claims. (o1.-.4s 1ss This invention relatesto a forming mechaeral structure of this machine formsno part of nism' adapted more particularly for use in conthis invention, the machine being fully described nection with van upholstery forming or sewing andparts thereof claimed in application Serial machine. No. 490,034 filed by'Frederick N. Rossand One of the primary objects of this invention Horace L. Johnson on October 20, 1930, and enis to provide a mechanism which will be ca,- titled Sewing looper. mechanismf. The" mapable of engaging a continuously movable strip chine is designed to unite by continuous lines of cloth to form therein longitudinally extending of stitching, finish and .lining fabrics, there beseam ridges and to present these seam ridges ing disposed between these fabrics suitable strips 65 to the sewing mechanism of the machine. of cotton, bat or the like. i

A further object of this invention is to pro- Thegeneral form of the upholstery produced vide a mechanism of the above mentioned chari'sillustrated inv Figs. 6 and 7, and byreference acter in which 'the several parts thereof will to these figures it will be noted that the finish be adjustable to provide for variably spacing fabric F is formed witl'i seam ridges S therein,

the seam ridges formed in .the cloth. while the lining fabric L is formed with portions Still further the invention contemplates the N therein disposed adjacent the seam ridges S provision of a mechanism of the above menin a positionto bestitched thereto. 'Disposed tioned character which willbe relatively'simple between the lining and finish fabrics are strips in construction and which may be conveniently of. cotton bat designatedby .the reference charassociated with a sewingmachine a'ctei B. g v i 5. Numerous other objects and advantages of Ingeneral the sewing machine comprises a I this invention ,will become more apparent as frame 16 upo n which .is mounteda source'off the following description proceeds, particularly power in the form of a motorl'l. This motor when reference is had to the accompanying drivesa pulley 18 with which a'belt 19 is en- 25 drawings, wherein: v '1 gaged, this belt in turn engaging a pulley 20 Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view mounted on a shaft 21.1 For coupling the pulley oi a sewing machine showing a forming mecha- 20 to the shaft 21"there is provided a clutch nism constructed in accordance with the teachdesignated generally by the reference character ings of this invention associated with the same; 22 and arranged to be actuated by a suitable Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the struchand lever or the like 23. j r 85 ture shown'in Fig. 1; The shaft 21 extends intov a} casing 25"which Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially contains reduction gearing, the take-01f shaft of on the line 3--3 of Fig. 2; this reduction 3 gearing-being indicated by the Fig. 4 is a sectional view' taken substantially reference character 26 and-being provided with on the line 44 of Fig. 3; T i a a sprocket 2'7 with which a chain 28 is engaged. Fig. 5 is. a sectional view taken substantially. This chain passes around suitable sprocket on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; wheels for'drifving the several parts of the sewing Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially machine such, for example, as the cloth and coton the line 6--6 of Fig. 3; ton bat feeding mechanisms. Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken-substantially The shaft-2lis also provided with a sprocket 96 on theline 77 of Fig. 3; 3 wheel 29 with'whi'ch' a chain 30 is engaged; this Fig. 81s a fragmentary sectional viewtaken chain driving the sprocket 31 i which through substantially on the line88 of Fig. 2; I suitable gearing drives a shaft 32 to operate the Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken substantially sewing needles of the machine.

on the line 9-9 of Fig. 2; i I The lining fabric L is fed fromanywsuitable Fig. 10 is a fragmentary plan View with parts source to a point above the machine and is' then broken away of a portion of the-structure shown fed downwardly to the sewing point in any de- 7 in Fig. 3; and T i sired manner. The thread I is also fed doW n Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken substantially wardly from above the machine to the sewing on the line 11-41 of Fig. 10. needles. The finish fabric F is fed to the ma.'

Referring then particularly to the drawings, chine from-one side thereof, and the presenting v wherein like reference characters designate cor-"L vention is directed more particularlyto theapparesponding parts throughout all views, the .ref- 'ratus for feeding this finish-fabric and for form-.

56 erence character 15 designates generallya sewingthe seam ridges S in the same.

in or upholstery forming machine. The gen- Supported by "the frame-16 and 'projecti ng" w v laterally from one side thereof is an endless conveyordesignated generally by the reference character 35. This conveyor is of the type disclosed in application Serial No. 462,620 filed by Frederick N. Ross on June 20,1930, and entitled Adjustable main conveyor. The conveyor is a latticed structure longitudinally but not transversely flexible. It comprises a plurality of transversely extending slats orbars 36 united into a belt-like structure by means of link chains 37. These chains, are engaged by suitablesprockets 38 and 39 mounted on shafts 40 and 41, V respectively, carried by the frame 16. r The shaft 'stantially U-shapedin cross section. The legs 40 is preferably driven in anypdesired'manner from the shaft 26, as for example by suitable sprockets on the shafts 26 and 40, these sprockets being engaged by a chain 42.

Each slat 36 is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced forming blocks 45. Each forming block is substantially U-shaped in cross sectional shape being provided with a'base 46 secured to its respective slat and being provided with the legs 47 which are spaced for a pur pose which will hereinafter be more fully described. V 7

Each slat has a corresponding number of similarly spaced forming blocks which in the upper flight of the belt form a plurality of substantially continuous longitudinal ribs which engage the finish fabric to preliminarily form in the same a corresponding number of longitudinal plates or .ridges. These ridges are later formed into'the seam ridges S in a manner which willhereinafter be more fully brought out.

Supported by the frame 16 above the conveyor 35 is a cross frame member 50. This frame member is provided with a longitudinally extending T-slot 51 for receiving the heads of clamping bolts 52,these boltsbeing adjustable longitudinally ofthe slot as will be readily apparent. Each clamping bolt supports a plate 53,and each plate has its lower edge disposed adjacent the top of the conveyor 35. The lower edge of each plate is provided with an inverted U-shaped recess 54,and the plates are so positioned transversely of the machine that each rib formed on the conveyor by the blocks 45 travels longitudinally of one-of the recesses 54 during movement of the conveyor.

The plates 53 are of variable length, the

. longer plates being disposed centrally of the machine and thus centrally of the conveyor'and theplates decreasing in length toward the sides of the machine. Each plate is provided at each end with a pair of sprocketwheels 55 disposed on opposite sides thereof, andengaging'these sprocket wheelsare suitable forming chains 56. These chains are driven by mounting the sprocket wheels 55 at the rear .of the plateon a shaft 57, which shaft is provided with a gear 58 illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the plates support long chains substantially centrally of the conveyor, and other chains decreasing in,

length toward both sides of the conveyor so that when the finish cloth is fed by the conveyor in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2 of the draw- 7 ing, the cloth will-firstbe engaged adjacent its center by the chains and then the chains on the opposite sides of the center will successively engage the cloth.

slot for adjustment longitudinally thereof as bythe nuts 67 are supporting bolts 68, each of which supports one end of a T-bar 69. These T-bars are inclined downwardly to adjacent the forward ends of the plates 53 where the ends of these Ii-bars are supported by members 70 sub- 71 of these supports may be disposed with their free edges inv engagement with the top of the as clearly shown in Fig. 9 of the drawings.

Mounted to: one side of the frame 16 is a frame 72 which supperts a roll "73 of the finish fabric. The fabric from .this roll passes around suitable tension rollsw74 carried by the frame .72, around an idlerlroll'75 and then under .a

roll 76 which acts to spread or smooth the fabric. It will be noted that the fabric is wider than the conveyor 35 and that the members 6.9

are supported in converging relationship with.

v respect to each other so that at their outer ends they are wider than the conveyor 35 or ofsubstantially'the width of the fabric and thus serve to support the fabric. a

The fabricpasses downwardly on. the membars 69 to the forward ends of the plates 53,'the fabric strip being engaged first by the plates disposed centrally of theconveyor since these plates are the longest. As the fabric passes oifthe ends of the members 69, its under face is engaged by the blocks 45, whileits upper face is engaged by the chains 56 on'opposite sides of the blocks 45. This is illustrated in Fig; 4 of the drawings, and it will be understood by. reference to this figure that ribs are formed in the cloth about the blocks 45 and within the U-shaped recesses'54 of the plates. It will be understood that because of the fact that the plates decrease'in length toward the sides of the machine, the ribs will be formed in the cloth from the center cutwardlyso that the cloth will be gathered inwardly toward the center to form the ribs.

Adjacent the inner end of the conveyor 35 and at the pointwhere the forming blocksstart moving downwardly out of the seam ridges, sewing plates 85 are mounted, one sewing plate being I provided for each ridge S. These sewing plates are mounted for adjustment transversely of the machine as by the headed bolts 86 mounted in a T-slot 87 formed in a frame member 88, and each sewing plate is'provided with a finger portion 89 arranged to extend into the seam ridges between the forming feet 80 and 81 and betweenthelegs 47 of the forming blocks 45. Thus, as the forming blocks move downwardly,

'the seam ridges arestripped therefrom by the.

sewing plates which hold the seam ridges in the position shown in- Fig. 7 of the drawingsh Each sewing plate is provided with an open.

ended slot 90 through which the needle 91 of the'sewing mechanism may reciprocate, it being, understood that at this point the portion N of the lining fabricfwill'be disposed adjacent ,the upper edge of the ridge seam S in a position to be stitched thereto; Each ,formingiioot 81 is preferably providedwitha looper housing 92 in which a looper mechanism operates in conjunction with the needle91 The structure of the looper housing, the sewing plate, the form'- ing'feet and. the structure and operation of the sewing mechanism all form no parto f this in" vention, being described and claimed in therapplicaticn first referred to herein.

From the above it is believed that the inven 'tion will be clearlyapparent' .-The finish'fabrie fed toward the sewing mechanismj'bymeans cf an endless conveyor, andthis conveycrcarforming 'mechanisms.

ries forming blocks whichcooperate with each:

other to form substantially i continuousribs. These ribs engage the under face of the finish fabric, whileithe upper face thereof is engaged" on opposite sides -'of theribsby former chains which, in'cooperation with the formingblocks, These 1 ridges are formed fromthe center oi the cloth outwardly so that thecloth is gathered inward-Q: ly and so that further, any desired fullness may.

form the seam ridges in, the; fabric.

be produced in the; cloth between the ridges to receive the strips of icotton bat B. 3

The several rib forming mechanisms may be adjusted transversely of the machine to provide. for adjustmentof the spacing of theribs transversely of the strip of fabric, and the form ing feet and sewing plates may likewise be ad-Q justed to corresp'ond' to the positioning of the" The machine may, be

continuously operated, and the ridges wil'l be continuouslyformed in the finish fabric as the f "latter is presented to the sewing mechanism.

" While the invention has beenidescribedjwith some'detail, it is to be understood that the deseriptien is for thepurposes. of illustration. only and not definitive of the limitsof the inventive idea. The right is reserved to make such 1 changes in the details oi construction and ar T ,rangement of parts as will fall within thepurview'of the attached claims.

What we claim as our invention is:'

a 1 1. In an upholstery forming machine, means fer advancing a strip of 'material and-aplural ity of forming chains arranged in thepathpf. travel of the stri'p'of material and arranged to engage the upper 'face thereof, said forming chains being of variable length to provide for j 1 the successive engagement of said chains with said strip. 1 V L I r H 2. In an upholstery forming machine, means for advancing a strip of material, and a plurality 'of forming cha nsarranged in-tlie pathof travel] oft-he strip of 'material and arranged to engage t....e upper face thereof, said forming chains being of different lengths and the longer ofsaid chains being disposed to engage the strip of material adjacent the center thereof, said forming chains] I being adaptedto transversely ingather thestrip i of material to form longitudinal ridges therein;

3.-[Inan upholstery forming machinean endw I lessiconveyor fo r'advancing a stripof material,

forming blocks on said conveyorarranged to form ribs longitudinally thereof 'engageable with the under face'of the strip of material during travel thereof, plates supported labovesaid con 7 veyor and having recessesin their lower edges" for'receiving theribs, on the conveyor, and

,chains carried byflsaid plates-"andengageable with the upper faceof the strip of material and, I cooperating with the ribs ,on the conveyorto 'iorm'ridges inthe striprof material."v l

ll In fanuphelstery forming machine,rneans for advancing a strip of material, and means in Y eluding aplurality of pairs of "endless chainsmovable with said strip ofmateria'l and engaging" the upper. face thereof to formridgesthereins f 3 5. In an upholsteryv forming machine, an endless conveyor-for advancing a; strip m i 7 plates supportedabove said conveyor and ar-,

ranged longitudinally thereof, saidfplat'es-being of-different lengths and beingfso arranged that their forward endsterminate' at different dis- 1 tanceslfrom the :iorwardend ofis'ai'dconveyor, and iorming'chains carried bysaid platesl and arranged Ito engage the strip. of material ad- I warmed by said conveyor; undersaid.- plates.

'6. In an upholstery forming machine, an endless conveyor'for. advancinga strip of material,

means includingfi'endless chains supported above; said conveyor and arranged to engage the strip of material advanced-'by said conveyor to form, lo'ngitudina'l"ridges therein, and means for adjusting said chains transversely of said. .con- 1 yeyor to vary, the distanceibetweenlthe ridges -i'ormed by said chains. QT i i 7', In an upholstery forming machine, ia'nj'endrless ccnvey or iorfadvancing a strip pfn aterial, 1

forming-'meansfor engaging thestrip'of material) g I advanced-by saidfconveyor to transversely in--' 1 gather the-same to form longitudinal ribs there-' on, andsupportingbeamsassociated with said" conveyorforsupporting'the strip "of material out r gagement of the ,strip 'ofmaterial with the said vforming means. Q 1 p 8.'In anupholstery forming machine, an-end-fi less conveyor for advancing a strip of material,

of engagement with the conveyor, prior to fenplates supported above said conveyor aiidfspaced forfengagin'glthe strip of material .to transversely the'stripI'Of material out of engagement With'said chains with'the strip of matlerial; each supporting beam having its one end termz 'uiatin g adj a-i cent the forward end of one ois'aidplatesaridlj said supporting beams diverging outwardly from the forward .ends of saidrplates to; provide for H v the supporting-of a strip of rr'iat'erial,wider-vthan 

